Everyone knows it takes courage to adopt a child. It takes twice as much courage if you are a single woman adopting a child in a foreign land.
Seven years ago, Brenda Lee, an ordained chaplain in Williamsburg, embarked upon a long, lonely and sometimes dangerous journey on the road to adoption in Russia.
A strong desire for a child of her own gave Brenda the incentive to begin the task. Having served as a Southern Baptist missionary in Kyrghyzstan early in her career, her thoughts turned toward the goal of adopting a Russian child.
Anderson is “a true Russian,” says her mother, Brenda Lee. “She loves music, as well as gymnastics.” Now in the third grade, Anderson studies the harp and piano.
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In preparation for the task she had set herself, Brenda completed her studies in chaplaincy service, obtaining her board certification. After serving as a chaplain in Danville, she became director of pastoral care at Williamsburg Landing, a retirement home in Williamsburg.
Brenda applied at an adoption agency, only to learn after months of preparation and waiting, that the agency wasn’t reputable. Fortunately, Focus on Children, a Wyoming agency, picked up her application and proceeded with it.
Russia requires potential adoptive parents to make two trips to their country. On her first trip, Brenda flew to Moscow, where she stayed at the Leningradskaya Hotel. From Moscow she flew to Siberia, where she traveled by bus to her destination. There she chose a 14-month-old baby, a serious-eyed little girl called Anastasia, to be her daughter.
The second time Brenda flew to Russia she was required to stay a month. In pockets of her heavy coat she had hidden packets containing $7,300, the price of the adoption. She had also brought food for the baby, including the old standby, Cream of Wheat.
In the middle of her first night at the Leningradskaya, the hotel room began to get alarmingly warm. Suddenly there was pounding on her door. When she opened the door to two Russian men, smoke billowed in from the hall. She grabbed her money packets and papers before being literally dragged down the hall and out of the hotel. Out on the street Brenda recalls the dramatic sight of Red Square lit up in the reflection of the hotel fire. The fire catastrophe was short-lived, and it was contained to the floor where Brenda was staying. The other guests were unaware that there had been a fire.
Brenda visited her new baby at the orphanage. Anastasia was now 18 months, a very serious little girl, but very affectionate. Holding her new baby, Brenda recalls thinking, “It just doesn’t get any better than this!”
On the way back to America, Brenda and her new baby stayed at the luxurious Marriott Hotel in Moscow. “The hotel was gorgeous,” Brenda commented.
Anderson at 2, when she was dedicated at church, wearing a Russian dress purchased in Moscow.
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Still, there was anxiety until the mother and daughter had flown past the borders of Russia. While the baby remained in the country, a Russian could still receive preference for adoption.
Once safely home in Williamsburg, Brenda took her to Duke University for corrective eye surgery. This was a promise she had been required to make in Russia.
Today little Anastasia is a happy, healthy child of eight with an even longer name — “Anderson Caroline Anastasia Lee.” She is called Anderson, the surname of helpful friends Brenda knew in her church in Danville. Very much a little Virginia girl now, she is lively, “all over the place” and engaging. “Everybody wants to talk to me,” she says.
Anderson is in third grade at Rawlsbyrd Elementary School in Williamsburg, where her favorite subject is math. She studies the harp and piano. “She is a true Russian,” says Brenda. “She loves music, as well as gymnastics.”
Brenda plans to write a book about her experience in Russian adoption. “I just don’t know how to start,” she said.
“This is how to start,” Anderson chimed in. “Once upon a time!”
“Once upon a time” a lady adopted a little girl from Russia and brought her home to Virginia. The story has a happy ending. The very serious baby in Russia is now a beautiful little Virginia girl, and it isn’t difficult to see that mother and child are a very happy family.
Elinor Warren is a freelance writer and member of First Baptist Church in Newport News, Va.
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